advent & Christmas
embracing and becoming the Light
wait … what’s advent?
Advent is the 4 week season that takes us right up into Christmas. While it’s definitely a time of decorating, counting down, and getting excited, it’s also a time of getting ready. It’s when we remember why we need Christmas: that there is still darkness and despair in us and around us, and we need God to come into our lives and world to show us that we are not alone and that this is God’s world. That’s why we talk about things like hope, peace, joy, and love; it’s why we take time to light candles; and it’s we resist jumping straight into carols and celebration. It’s a time meant to do a very daring and courageous thing: look at what is not right in our lives and world so we can not only embrace God’s light, but also become it.
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advent devotional
Get ready for Christmas with our Advent devotional. Full of daily readings, prayers, music, art and reflection questions, this is a wonderful way to not only care for your soul in this busy season and tough word, but make Christmas that much more special.
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advent playlist
Did you know that there's music made just for Advent? This curated Spotify playlist is of songs about lament, longing, hope, and looking for God in our darkness.
Put it on, feel your feels, and let it help you get ready to experience the light and joy of Christmas.
Start listening now -
advent gift catalog
This Christmas, skip the shopping and give a gift that truly matters.
Our Advent Gift Catalog supports Hands & Hearts for Africa in Malawi — with gifts that feed children, equip farmers, and help people rebuild their lives after prison. Choose a gift in honour of someone you love and make a real difference in someone else’s life.
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blessing bags
This Advent, we're hoping to put together 100 Blessing Bags for our friends living on the streets, filled with practical items and a reminder that they are seen, valued, and cared for. Can you help us fill them?
🧤 Warm mitts, hats, scarves & heavy-duty socks
☕ Thermal cups & hand warmers
🍫 Protein bars & fruit snack pouches
❤️ Other practical items that might offer a little extra TLC!
Bring your donations on Sundays, November 29, December 6, or December 13. Stay after church one Sunday and help us put the bags together!
Once they're ready, everyone is invited to take a Blessing Bag to keep in their car, ready to share with someone who could use a little kindness.
Questions? Connect with Rev. Kim. This Advent, let's turn a little generosity into a whole lot of love. ❤️ -
book club
Mondays, Dec 14 & 21, 7-8:30pm
This Advent, we're reading The First Advent in Palestine: Reversals, Resistance, and the Ongoing Complexity of Hope by Kelley Nikondeha.
We tend to imagine Christmas as a peaceful, beautiful moment in history. But the first Advent unfolded in a world marked by violence, political oppression, uncertainty, and suffering. Sound familiar?
Nikondeha invites us to rediscover the Christmas story through the experiences of the people who first lived it, and to consider what the incarnation, God taking on human flesh, means for us today.
Together, we'll wrestle with some big questions: What kind of God enters a suffering world? What does peace look like when injustice persists? And how do we practice hope when the world doesn't seem to be getting any better?
Dec 14: ch 1-8 // Dec 21: ch 9-10.
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advent together
Friday, Dec 4, 7pm
Christmas can be beautiful. It can also become a lot. Advent invites us to do something different—to slow down, make space, and remember what we’re actually waiting for.
Advent Together is an all-ages gathering to explore the meaning of Advent, meet new people, share in simple activities, and prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus.
No perfect Christmas required. No pressure to have everything done. Just time to pause, wonder, create, talk, and be together as we begin the season.
Come with your family, bring a friend, or come on your own. Let’s make a little room for what matters this Christmas.
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night of lament
Sunday, Dec 13th at 730pm
Christmas isn’t always joyful. For a lot of us, it can be one of the hardest times of the year. Whether you’re struggling with grief, stress, family dynamics, loneliness, despair, or anything else, this is a chance for you to name it all, let it out, be with people who get it, and find some hope and peace through an evening of sad songs.
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ladies time out
saturday nov 28 10am-2pm
Before the Christmas rush takes over, let's make some time to slow down, share some laughter, get creative, and prepare our hearts for what really matters this season!
We'll be baking, swapping cookies, making Christmas crafts, enjoying a little friendly competition (with prizes!), sharing in worship, and taking home a few meaningful reminders to carry into the Christmas season.
🎄 Want to make an ugly Christmas sweater? Bring a plain sweater, sweatshirt, cardigan, or shirt. We'll provide the decorations!
🍪 Love cookies? Bring some homemade or store-bought favourites for our cookie exchange—or simply come ready to enjoy a few!
🎨 Not a baker or crafter? No problem! There will be plenty of other ways to connect, laugh, and enjoy the morning.
❤️ And most importantly, we'll make space to pause, reflect, and remember the heart of Christmas.A donation of $20 or more would be appreciated to help cover costs, but is absolutely not required. Once you're registered, we'll send along more details closer to the event. Questions? Reach out to Rev. Kim!
christmas eve
Christmas isn’t only the celebration that Jesus was born, it’s about the that embodies and proclaims: God is here, with us and for us.
Everyone belongs as we gather to celebrate this good and everything-changing news.
Join us for one or join us for all three as celebrate and embrace the joy of Christmas.
